By RASHAD ROBINSON, Commentary

Published 3:41 pm, Wednesday, June 12, 2013

The American Civil Liberties Union released a report last week showing shocking levels of disparity in marijuana arrests. Although blacks and whites use marijuana at similar rates, blacks are arrested at nearly four times the rate of whites for marijuana possession.

The targeting of blacks and Latinos through biased law enforcement practices has split our state in half — the New York you live in depends on your race, ethnicity and class. In every single county, blacks are more likely than whites to be arrested for marijuana possession. This inequity should be unacceptable.

The state Assembly recently passed a bill to decriminalize possession of marijuana up to 15 grams, reducing the charge to a violation. Dozens of community groups, a majority of voters and law enforcement officials support the bill.

Despite broad support, reform hasn't materialized — maybe because Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who supported it until recently, no longer cites reform as a priority. He now says nothing at all. And the Senate leadership coalition — controlled by the all-white Republican and "Independent Democratic" conferences — has proven ineffective and incapable of representing the interest of blacks. Their inaction speaks to their comfort with governing a state that treats people of color differently from white residents.

All of us should expect more from our elected officials. It's time for the governor to show leadership, and the Senate must quickly pass the law if residents hope to enjoy a shared experience of freedom, regardless of their neighborhood or color of their skin.

Rashad Robinson is the executive director of ColorOfChange.org, an online civil rights organization.